In a community of tenant farmers in Bahia, Brazil’s poorest region, two sisters find an ancient knife amongst their grandma’s belongings, altering the trajectory of their lives…

Initially this one didn’t seem too promising - I didn’t find the first part that engaging and thought it was good to turn into a story of two women vying for the same man, which I can’t really be bothered with. But actually, the book very much improves as it progresses, and I particularly enjoyed the third part as it all comes together - we get more about the family’s history and also a little more historical and political context.

The writing is pretty simple and straightforward, perhaps as a counterbalance to the tough topics the story delves into - set a mere three generations after the abolition of slavery, this very much deals with the racist legacy of slavery and colonialism and the political struggle for (basic) rights. The tenant farmer community in which the book is set is descended from slaves and, dependent as they are on the land in order to feed themselves and their families, remains almost slaves in all but name. It’s a brutal, tough and inherently unfair existence.

I found the parts about the Jarê religion particularly fascinating - the sisters’ father is a Jarê priest so the rituals are a large part of their lives. I loved learning about this blend of Catholicism and the religious traditions brought over from Africa by slaves, seeing how two quite different belief systems combined into a spiritual anchor for the community.

A very readable story of a community of subsistence tenant farmers, spirituality and the racist legacy of colonialism and slavery in Brazil.